40s and Free Agents: The AFC West’s 5 Impact Additions and Rookies

0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. Lowe's knows Sundays are for football. So tackle your home improvement projects by Saturday and earn your Sunday with great deals on LG and Bosch appliances, select Ego, DeWalt, Filtree products, and more. Then once your to-do list is done, get ready to kick back, relax, and enjoy the game. Shop in-store or online now and earn your Sunday with help from Lowe's, official partner of the NFL. Scams don't always look like scams anymore. AI can make a fake ticket offer look legit or a sportsbook text sound official. And once an identity thief gets your personal information, they can start using your name like it belongs to them.

0:48And then what? LifeLock helps detect potential identity threats and suspicious activity. And if identity theft happens, LifeLock's restoration specialist can help restore your identity. Guaranteed. Because only LifeLock truly protects your name and identity. Get LifeLock at LifeLock.com and use promo code FOOTBALL for up to 30 % off your first year. That's LifeLock.com, code FOOTBALL. Some people use ChatGPT to answer questions. Others use it to get real work done. With ChatGPT work, you bring the goal. Plus real inputs like briefs, notes, files, feedback, data, and project plans. It can help turn them into an analysis, tracker, deck outline, prototype, or workflow you can review and keep shaping.

1:31You stay in control, giving direction and choosing the final output. Put ChatGPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at ChatGPT.com by selecting work mode. Available on Plus and Pro plans. Life moves fast. At American Military University, they're ready to help you keep up. AMU's flexible, affordable online programs in cybersecurity, IT, space studies, and more are designed for service members, veterans, and their families. AMU provides the support you need to take the next step wherever life takes you. American Military University. It is made for what's next. Learn more at amu.apus.edu.

2:15you. Welcome to 40s and free agents. I'm Greg Rosenthal joined as always by my friend, move the sticks, Daniel Jeremiah. Can I call you a friend? Yes, you can call me a friend. And I can tell you that I thought you did a wonderful job after having to retape this open six times. Greg's a little rusty. That is not true. I've retape it one time and I knew you You would bring it up. And it's fine. It's a podcast. You can re-record things if you want. Speaking of which, everyone that signed up for the 40s and Free Agents feed this week, we noticed you. We saw you. We appreciate you. If you are listening to this show and you are not yet signed up for 40s and Free Agents on iTunes, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts, do us a favor and please do that and you'll hear all of our big takes.

3:03What's up? Can I also add on to that? Throw a little review and a little rating on it, too. Give us a little of that action. It would help. As we're launching this thing into the sun, let's go through the five rookies, DJ, in your division, the AFC West. You cover the Chargers as their radio voice, so you know this division very well. You're going to give us five rookies that are going to make a big impact this season. I'm going to give you five veterans that were added in the offseason, but you can get us going. Yeah, sure. And if you missed it, go back, listen to the NFC West episode. On that one, we had a lot more mid-round picks.

3:39You know, I just felt the way it shook out that there was more guys in that range of the draft that would have an immediate impact. And this is what we're doing on this study is, again, I'm looking for these guys to step on the field, impact right away. In this division, it's a lot of chalk. And I'll start, first of all, with the team that I cover in the Chargers, Amar and Hampton, their first-round pick. This is someone, the size, speed, you know, can catch out of the backfield. All those things are there. There's the two things that I would say that have stood out in terms of talking to coaches, being out there at practice, seeing him in the preseason the other night.

4:11This is someone who, in pass protection, coaches rave about him. So what's the biggest hurdle for young backs is get on the field, stay on the field, is pass protection. He's really, really good in that department. So that's going to bode well for him getting a lot of play time. Number two is, you know, talking to Coach Harbaugh before this last preseason game. And he's been really impressed with his vision, which was, you know, some of a question mark with him coming out was like, okay, he's got the height, weight, speed. He can catch it. He can block, do all these things. But how is the vision?

4:42And he said he's been very impressed, even in practices where they aren't padded up, which can be a little bit difficult for running backs. It's a lot of mud. You don't see it. It's a lot of, you know, walls of people. There's not a lot of seams that create. Harbaugh actually uses those periods to kind of gauge and see how these guys are seeing things. Did a nice job. Now, in the first preseason game, there's a run to the left. outside. I would like to see him square shoulders, get north and south and plow through. I believe it was Rock Yasin. Gonna ran through him for a touchdown. He tries to stretch it.

5:11Doesn't get there. I think that's a learning experience for him. Long way of saying he's going to play an awful lot, Greg. And I think behind this offensive line, I think he has a really nice year for the Chargers. Yeah, Najee Harris coming off that eye injury. Not that I thought Najee would be the 1A to Hampton's 1B anyways, but it's just giving Hampton a longer runway to be the man. And I love hearing that. I love that you're there at practice hearing that, that you're literally hearing it from Jim Harbaugh because fantasy football, I am going big on a Marion Hampton. Like reality, I'm going big on a Marion Hampton.

5:46I hear you. Wait, are you sneaking your guy, Keiondre Lambert-Smith in here? Because you said, you know, you're mostly going with chalk and that was a fifth round pick. He was a young receiver for the Chargers already making some noise who I couldn't help but notice. you had higher than just about anyone. You know, you had him in your top 150. People are like, I've prepped for 40 wide receivers. I never even heard of this guy. And then the Chargers take him, and it really supports the accusations that you are a shadow GM of the team that you work for. Would you like to answer those accusations?

6:18What's the last thing we're supposed to be doing? We're supposed to be doing a wild card. Yeah, a wild card. But, well, I guess, should I just do my wild card now? Do you want to just steal the rest of the rundown here? I mean, we don't have a rundown. that's you know i didn't know who you're gonna pick how about some faith and trust in your partner here we could share the rundown ahead of time or you could just go along with it and have a nice chargers conversation right at the top of the show this is like we talk about in scouting we use the term fbi okay football intelligence it's instincts it's awareness it's an understanding greg's podcast fbi atrocious just no feel whatsoever you knew i liked the guy going into the draft.

6:59He lights up practice. He scores in the freaking Hall of Fame game. You think I'm not going to mention? Come on, dude. Just a little faith and confidence in your partner here, bud. Okay, so if I was a football player, obviously physically talented, but just not really with the instinct to what you compared. Yeah, you can't find and play the ball. I mean, it's like, oh, you're in great coverage down the field, but hey, let's locate the ball. The ball's just getting completed right over his shoulder. I'm like Jeff Okuda in my first three stops, although there is some good positive pop that he's turning it around with the Vikings.

7:32All right, go on with Keandre Leverett Smith. Yeah, yeah, look, he's been really good, and he's explosive. The one thing that was great to see in the preseason is, I go back through my notes, the speed was there. He's a Penn State transfer who then goes to Auburn. Big plays down the field. I mean, he looks beautiful. He is a big, just physical, fast dude. The question was press. Like, there were some times in college where they got up into him and press coverage, and he struggled with it. So we go to this preseason game, and he ends up, it was Rake-A-Straw, Ennis Rake-Straw from the Lions. He lined up nose-to-nose, and they're a press man team, Detroit is.

8:09And the first time, I literally, that was, I told the money as we're calling the game, like, ooh, we got press coverage down here. Lambert Smith excited. Literally, boom, he beats, wins right off the line. It's like a 29, 30-yard completion on a fade from Trey Lance. Like, well, that's a great sign. And then a couple more times they get press, including on the goal line. he jabs him hits a slant touchdown I'm like okay like this is if he's getting off press coverage with all the other skill set that he possesses he is going to get on the field and have an impact but there you go Greg I I'm getting excited you mentioned doing the game with money and I can't help think back to last weekend Canton when Antonio Gates gets inducted the very last thing you hear before Antonio Gates walks on the field is Matt Money Smith's fantastic call of him setting a touchdown record.

8:58I think what you need to do, DJ, is you need to start shoehorning in on some big-time calls. Stepping on him. Stepping on him. Like if Khalil Mack, I'm trying to think who could possibly, Khalil Mack, if he breaks some sort of record, or Justin Herber as his career is developing. You want to get into that spot. Don't let money get all the shine there. You know what I used to do? This is sad to say, but when I first started doing these games, the times where you would hear that, I don't, you know, I don't know who does inside the NFL because you'd show the clips from the game and they would have some audio on there and stuff.

9:32I didn't have I don't have HBO or any of the stations that was on. So that was not my jam. But my jam was when this top 100 list would come out because the top 100 list would come out and then they play some of the radio calls as they're, you know, they're going over those players. And then I quickly realized this is a play by play sport, man. This is not a this is not a color analyst sport. This is a play by play sport. And so you're going to get money and that's what the people want. And that's what the people deserve. Yeah, that was a big diversion there, but I want you getting in there and look, we play you on NFL daily.

10:03We're doing highlights each and every week. So if the chargers win a lot of games and Keandre Lambert Smith is scoring touchdowns, then, then we should do it. Let's, let's all throw out my wild card just to keep, keep us on the same page now. And it is a former charger. It's Christian Fulton with the chargers. The reason I point that out and, And I mentioned this on our AFC takeaways, and I kind of forgot about Fulton, to be honest, because he hasn't been on the field, which is something that's happened a lot for him throughout his career. He really hasn't been on the field consistently enough.

10:34He was for the Chargers a year ago, but he's a cornerback that I think they're counting on a lot because if you look at their problems in that Super Bowl, they really just didn't go deep enough at the cornerback position. You should mention that he's with the Chiefs, not with the Chargers anymore, by the way. That would be good. He is with the Chiefs now, so he changes places in the division. I think he's a good player. And you can tell me what you think about him and what you saw. I think he's a really good player. And so to me, he's kind of a boomer bust player for them because after him, it gets pretty thin where it's Shamari Connor and Naze Johnson and some of these guys who were getting torched in that Super Bowl.

11:09Well, McDuffie's pretty good. Right. But you need three cornerbacks. You got Jalen Watson as your two. I think in today's NFL, you need four. and I think it falls off pretty steeply maybe after McDuffie and Watson. So to me, Christian Fulton is my wild card. That's a good one. Look, he can play any way you want to play. When he's healthy and on the field, he can play press. He can play off. He's got good eyes. He can play the ball. He's a good player. He just hasn't been able to stay healthy. That's it. I mean, that's it, but that's a good one. All right, give me another of your top rookies. I'll stay with the Chiefs.

11:45I mean Josh Simmons you know and this is one you've already heard all the buzz he's the left tackle like you just plug him and play him the talent was never a question you know he got hurt at Ohio State last year but his tape when he's on the field is good or better than anybody else in the draft I mean it literally is he had the best left tackle tape if you're just going to go off of the tape so how did the league let the Chiefs get him? because you had injuries and you had immaturity and it was that combination that scared people off so look Look, Drew Rosenhaus brought him to the Senior Bowl when he wasn't playing in the Senior Bowl because he knew there was concerns about him and he wanted him to be around the team so they could get to know him and get more comfortable with him.

12:24That doesn't happen if you're sitting there knowing you're the most talented tackle in the draft and there's no cause for concern. You're not parading him down there to the Senior Bowl. So that was where the league is. And the ability was never a question with him. Now, it looks like he's come back really, really quickly and strong from this injury. And so far, so good. All accounts, he's doing everything he needs to do. But there's guys like this every year, Greg. And what happens is there's some of them will go on and have unbelievable careers. And you say, the whole league is stupid. Why were they worried about this?

12:57And then what happens is those are the ones that are remembered. The ones that aren't remembered are the guys who a year or two in, like there's some things that pop up or there's immaturity or, you know, and then the guy kind of fades away. and it's like nobody ever gets an apology for why they passed on someone or with injuries, and all of a sudden that injury ends up being a major issue year two or three. I'm just telling you, we talked about it in 40s and free agents before the draft about how gifted he is and how talented he was. This was not one of those issues with him. I hear all that, and I do wonder if the teams overrate the injury at the time of the draft.

13:33You want everyone to be 100 % pristine, but this is a four or five-year commitment for first-round picks, and you've got to have the long view. I do think sometimes team overrate a guy coming off an injury a little. But now the immaturity stuff, I would like to ask, what does that mean? I've never traded in that information. So I've always just kind of put it under that umbrella. It just served no purpose for me to get into that. So I've never done it with any player. It was just, it was enough where I call around to people and say, is there anything, are there any issues or any concerns? And with him, there were some concerns.

14:12So I put it under that umbrella. I don't want to be an investigative reporter, and I don't want to ever trash anybody, so I don't ever trade in that. This is how DJ plays the long game. He just keeps his hands clean. There's no winning in that. And I want all these guys to do great. So, I mean, there's no winning in that. I'm just saying. That's Rapsheet's job. Like, everyone can dislike Rapsheet. and that's fine. Yeah, that's literally at the draft. I mean, I'm sitting here. Ian's there to serve that purpose. Why is this guy still there when he's really, really talented? That's why. So I could have gone with Jalen Moore.

14:42I was thinking about him. If you're not familiar with him, he was the backup to Trent Williams. He was a left tackle for the 49ers last year when Trent Williams got hurt and they gave him$15 million a year, DJ. And now they've got what's called a great problem where he is now battling at right tackle with Juwan Taylor and at left guard with their former second round pick Kingsley's Suamatea. It's a lot of Chiefs offensive line talk, but to me that that's a bonus because he'll probably wind up starting in one of those spots and there's injuries and you're going to need them. So now after not having enough offensive linemen, somehow they traded away Joe Tooney and they might have too many, which is a great thing.

15:17So forget him. Let me ask you this question real quick on this topic before we keep it moving. If they had, I don't know, it's a pretty extreme vision of this, but if the Chiefs had Milata and Lane Johnson in the two Super Bowls they lost, did they win those two Super Bowls? Wow. Well, do you take it away from the Eagles? They'd have to go both ways in the one against the Eagles. Okay, I was going to say, because if suddenly the Eagles have their tackles, then yes, I think the answer might be yes. That Bucs night was I think even more than just two players. That was too much. Oh, Shaq Barrett and those, they eviscerated them on the edge.

15:56Then again, And the Eagles got it done on both sides of the ball. It is really crazy to think two of the most one-sided Super Bowls of all time were quarterbacked by Patrick Mahomes, at least in the last 15 years. It is crazy. But, I mean, I think you would say that if that, what was the biggest weakness of those Chiefs teams that didn't seal the deal and didn't, it was the tackles. So, not surprised that they addressed it in a big way here. Am I up next? No, that wasn't even one of mine. I'm going. I'm going. Well, I just was saying, like, you know, I just wanted to mention that he was there too.

16:28You just did all that and he doesn't count as one of your guys? We're going to have to ask our producer, Drew, does that count as one of the guys? He says no, so I'll do it very quickly. Evan Ingram is added to a Broncos mix at receiver slash tight end that to me needed a little more juice, a little more after the catch ability. It's a pretty big drop from Cortland Sutton, who is a great guy on the boundaries, but we need some guys who can make some plays after the catch and I think Evan Ingram could be very important for this Broncos team who to me did does need a little more juice in terms of their skill position players yeah he gives them some explosive plays I want to say if you go back and look but I want to say the Chargers had him in and he was in the mix and then they ended up pivoting from him I think to Conklin so they brought in Conklin from the Jets but he was coveted by a team in the division as well and it does give him some some explosiveness and a dynamic piece of that offense.

17:25So I know that was, you know, much was made about Sean Payton saying he wanted his joker, which is going to get me to my next guy that I'm going to mention here in a minute. But all the great Sean Payton offenses have had middle of the field mismatch players, whether that's backs, H-backs, tight ends, or whatever you call Taysom Hill. So having someone like that, I think, was definitely on his checklist in the offseason. Wait, so who's your next player? R.J. Harvey. Oh, okay. R.J. Hartby, second-round pick, who is like a Darren Sproles clone, just a bolt of lightning out of the backfield, big-time speed.

18:02He can separate and win one-on-one the pass game. So to me, every offensive Sean Paytons has had a back that can do the things that R.J. Hartby does, and I think he is a great fit there. Yeah, I think fantasy football players were alarmed when they add J.K. Dobbins deep into the offseason. and it's like, no, J.K. Dobbins is there to upgrade what was, I guess, the Odrick Estime spot. And those two guys do different things. And they're not going to count on Harvey, you don't think, to touch the ball 20 times a game or anything, do you? He doesn't need to. He doesn't need to. He's going to have some 100-yard games, like combined yards, 100-yard games with 10 to 12 touches.

18:39Like that's all he's going to need to get 100 yards. He's going to make some explosives. I think it could be one of the best defenses in the entire NFL. They're a good team, man. And we'll get to them and their defense actually right after this break.

19:18eight weeks. If your doctor decides that you can self-inject Tremphaya, proper training is required. Tremphaya is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Serious allergic reactions, increased risk of infections or lower ability to fight them, and liver problems may occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, or need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Tremphaya today.

19:50Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit TremphayaRadio.com. Lowe's knows Sundays are for football. So tackle your home improvement projects by Saturday and earn your Sunday with great deals on LG and Bosch appliances. Select Ego, DeWalt, Filtrete products, and more. Then once your to-do list is done, get ready to kick back, relax, and enjoy the game. Shop in-store or online now and earn your Sunday with help from Lowe's, official partner of the NFL. ChatGPT can do more than answer questions. It can help you get real work done. ChatGPT work is built for bigger projects with multiple steps. You bring the goal along with the information it needs, like briefs, notes, files, feedback, calendars, data sets, or project plans.

20:40Then ChatGPT can help turn all of that into something useful. An analysis, a tracker, a deck outline, a prototype, or a workflow you can keep shaping. It can also use approved apps, connected tools, files, and browser contexts to help move the work forward. And you stay in control. You give direction, review drafts, approve actions, redirect the work, and choose the final output. so you spend less time sorting through busy work and more time making progress on the work that matters. Put ChatGPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at ChatGPT.com by selecting Work Mode.

21:19Available on Plus and Pro Plans. How's the new place? Get your Wi-Fi figured out? I got T-Mobile 5G home internet and I'm loving it. It's the fastest 5G home internet. My old provider was so slow. Mine is slow. And only$35 a month. Do I need to try this? Try it for 15 days. Love it or get your money back. I love it already. There are over 250 reasons to join T-Mobile. Find yours and check availability at t-mobile.com slash home internet. This is according to Oculus Speed Test Intelligence data. Second half of 2025, all rates reserved for T-Money Back Guarantee within 30 days of cancellation. Hey everybody, this is Kevin.

21:54This is Nick. Hey, this is Joe. From Hey Jonas. You know, I recently learned that every 36 minutes, another child in the U.S. is diagnosed with cancer. Think about that for a second. Some of the bravest warriors you will ever meet aren't professional athletes or superheroes. They're kids in this fight. And every day, these young warriors face challenges most adults couldn't imagine. Yet they continue to show up with incredible courage, determination, and hope. That's why we're proud to support Hyundai Hope on Wheels. The past 28 years, with support from Hyundai, their dealers, and every new Hyundai sold, Hope on Wheels has contributed over$300 million to childhood cancer research, helping save more than 40 ,000 kids.

22:31But we're not done yet. We need your help. Together, let's bring every warrior home. Learn more at HyundaiUSA.com slash Hope on Wheels or ask about Hope on Wheels at your local Hyundai dealer.

22:45Oh, back on 40s and free agents. And you heard it before the break. DJ loves the Broncos. Jordan Rodrigues loves the Broncos. Everybody loves the Broncos. My theory on that, just a little bit, DJ, is everyone just likes Sean Payton and his buddies with Sean Payton. And so they're rooting for him. Not in your case, really, but I think the rest of the media. I can honestly tell you, I'm trying to think of who all is in their personnel department. I have one friend in their personnel department, but he's a friend that I'll talk to and see him twice a year with the Chargers. Don't have Sean Payton's number.

23:19I don't think he would even know who I am. Come on. He knows the game. He's come in the booth a couple times at the Combine, but I've never had a one-on-one conversation with him. He knows the media game. And yeah, I understand all the Broncos buzz because they have a lot of continuity. They have a rookie quarterback who really played better than you could have possibly expected. I still worry that they don't have quite enough juice on offense to really battle with the big boys. But then you look at that defense, DJ, after adding my pick here, Dre Greenlaw, and you just think, man, what can't this defense do?

23:56It is rare to see a defense that at every level feels loaded. And after adding Dre Greenlaw, who to me is a tone setter, who can rush the passer, certainly is great in run defense, just a tough guy. And you get Alex Singleton back from an injury. You had this kid, Justin Strenad, last year who they were using to blitz who actually played quite well for them as kind of a fourth or fifth year player. And I think that's no longer a weakness either. And I just love everything I've heard in terms of what Greenlaw has added so far to that mix. He's got to stay healthy. He's been a little bit in and out of practice already this offseason.